Like Bookends
by fanficismysecretobsession
Summary: Tristan and Rory are once more thrown together by that ole devil called higher education. How do they cope with feelings that never left, along with a whole parade of exes and the growing annoyance of Logan Huntzberger? Trory of course.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Like Bookends.**

**Characters: Mostly Rory, Tristan, Logan, Paris, Finn, Colin, Marty, Luke, Lorelai. Others if I feel like it.**

**Summary: When Tristan transfers to Yale, and moves in with his playboy friends, the last person he expects to see is his Mary; Rory Gilmore. How are he and Rory going to deal with their growing attraction to eachother, especially with a parade of both of their exes coming to visit, and the ever growing distraction of Logan Huntzberger coming between them.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing about Gilmore Girls. I also don't own the title, which is a line from Simon and Garfunkel's Old Friends. I do, however own the plot. Don't steal it.**

Tristan Dugray slammed the door of his silver Porsche and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

"_Huntzberger."_ He chuckled at the egotistical way his friend answered his phone.

"Hey man, what happened to helping me move in? I'm standing outside the apartment, where the fuck are you?" Tristan's deep voice rumbled accusingly.

"_I'm right around the corner, man, don't worry. Just finishing up a little difficult business." _Logan replied. In the background, Tristan heard a sarcastic woman's voice saying, _"Yeah cos callng a girl 'difficult business' is definitely the way to her heart." _Logan muttered something away from the phone before spekaing to Tristan again. _"I'll be there in about thirty seconds."_

Tristan sighed and snapped his phone shut, before beginning to remove boxes from the trunk and back seats of his car. He heard the self assured voice of Logan Huntzberger, his oldest friend, getting nearer to him and began to straighten up when he heard a voice that was all too familiar, even though it had been two years since he'd heard it.

"Logan, I'm not gonna go out with you just because we jumped off some scaffolding together. Your parents may have raised you to think that you were the greatest incentive of all, but for me you're gonna have to sweeten the pot. A lot." He shot upwards, hitting his head on the top of the car when he heard her speak. "Hey that rhymed." She giggled. Oh, God, her laugh, he remembered it well. It had turned him on back in high school, and it still did now.

"Took you long enough, Huntz." He willed himself to play it cool. "I didn't expect to see you here, Mary, especially not with New Haven's biggest player."

"Tristan!" She sounded shocked, and he allowed himself to look at Rory Gilmore. Two years had changed her a lot. The last time he'd seen her she'd been an innocent girl, running away from chaste kisses on piano stools, and preparing to be the most virginal Juliet Chilton had ever seen. Now she was confident, with a knowing glint in her eyes and was letting Logan's hand creep down her back steadily towards her bum. "What are you doing here?"

"You know Tris, Ace?" Logan asked. Tristan chuckled, he hadn't seen his best friend get caught off guard since they were about twelve.

"Yeah, Mary and I go way back."

"Great." Rory muttered, "Two arrogant rich kids thinking they can call me whatever the hell they like." The vehemence in her tone shocked him. She must have grown a lot more confident to even consider saying that outloud, he thought. "My name is _Rory_, people, and you still haven't answered my question, DuGray."

"I'm transferring to Yale, if you hadn't guessed, Mare. Huntz, Finn and Colin had an extra bed in their penthouse apartment, so they're letting me have it." Tristan smirked at her. He was liking this Mary.

"Ah yes, the infamous bachelor pad, it's going to be bouncing more than ever now." Rory sighed, bending over to pick over a box. She was unaware of the two blonds openly checking out her behind, but glared at them anyway when she straightened up. "So are we gonna stand on the sidewalk all day, or actually move Bible Boy in?"

*

Tristan wasn't sure how much of this he could take. Colin and Finn had been inside the apartment already, and he had to endure half an hour of all three guys openly flirting with an apparently willing Rory, while trying not to annoy her himself. He envied how easily she interacted with the three guys, even letting Finn peck her on the lips when she entered the apartment. As she was setting down her last box, her phone had gone off, and Logan had slipped his hand into her back pocket and removed it for her. That at least earned him an annoyed blush and a slap on the cheek, but Tristan was shocked at how she had underreacted. He knew that if it had been him, back at Chilton at least, she would have stormed off in a huff, and yelled at him the next time their paths crossed.

"I guess she changed as much as I did." He murmured, putting down his own final box.

"So." Rory announced, snapping her phone shut. "I have been summoned by the beast. I'll see you all around."

"The beast?" Tristan asked, confused.

"Paris." That was all she needed to say. They shared a knowing glance, and burst out laughing. "There's no need to worry, she's into professors that are four times her age nowadays. The preppy, blond guys our age are just so not her thing anymore."

"Thank God for that. Maybe now we can be friends again, instead of me running away everytime I see her." He laughed.

"You better hope so, cos if Paris disapproves then you can be sure that you'll never get to hang out with Reporter Girl, here." Finn commented, as the others laughed in agreement. "So you two went to Chilton together?"

"Yeah, those were good times." Tristan sighed, reminiscently, as Rory rolled her eyes.

"Well much as I'd love to stay and talk about that hell hole, I really need to get going before I'm late for Paris' therapy session. It's 'friend' week, and as her closest one I'm required to be there." Rory said, opening the door to the apartment. "God I hate Terrence." She walked out, slamming the door behind her, and leaving the four guys to their own devices.

"So…Ace never mentioned you." Logan said. Tristan was amused to notice that the fact that he'd known Rory when she was younger was really bugging Logan.

"Yeah, we weren't exactly friends back at Chilton." He admitted. "We were enemies, and then we were something else, and then we were almost together. Kind of. And then I got sent away."

"You almost dated _Rory Gilmore_?" Colin burst out, curiously. "She's like a legendary good girl here – hasn't dated a Yale dude, only that jackass rural boyfriend. And they broke up like four months ago."

"Hence the reason I call her Mary; only guy she dated during Chilton was the rural jackass, too. Cept of course for the lovely interlude when she kissed me."

"You've kissed her?" Both Colin and Logan yelled. Colin looked impressed that his friend managed to get near the girl who viewed every guy as a platonic friend, but Logan seemed annoyed that Tristan was muscling in on his love interest. "You don't still like her, do you?" Logan asked, tentatively.

Tristan thought for a second. Yes. He liked her a lot, almost as much as he had before he left for North Carolina. He'd compared every girl he'd met since high school with her, and always wondered what she was doing. Now that he was face to face with her again he could feel his old feelings for her returning with a vegeance, although he wasn't sure what she thought of him. He didn't say any of that, though.

"Does it sound like me to hold a candle for a girl, man?" He asked, laughing. His friends all shook their heads and chuckled at the ridiculous notion. The four of them were players for life, and Logan's behaviour was very out of the ordinary for them.

*

The next time Tristan and Rory saw eachother was during at the newspaper. Logan had been summoned by Doyle, and so was planning on making a quick appearance and convincing Rory to go to the pub with him. Tristan had decided to tag along and say hi to Paris as well as Mary, but hadn't been counting on the full on flirting going on between Rory and Logan.

"Come on, Ace, just one drink." Logan pleaded. "Tristan'll be there, so you guys can catch up." Tristan's head snapped up from where he had been leaning over Paris' screen when he heard his name being mentioned.

"I can catch up with Tristan without a drink in my hand, Huntzberger. Right now my deadline is tomorrow and I only have half an article." Tristan let out a sigh of relief as he heard her rejecting his friend.

"Still got a thing for her, huh?" Paris muttered.

"Am I that obvious?"

"To everyone except her and those brain-trustfunders you call friends." She replied. "Are you gonna tell her?"

"No. She's into Logan, anyone with half an eye can tell." He sighed, looking over at the pair.

"No, she thinks she likes the rich, blond, arrogant guy that's hassling her. Remind you of anyone?" Paris looked between her two clueless friends.

"No way." Tristan's eyes grew wide as he realised that Rory was just looking at the similarities between himself and his best friend. "That can't be right. Why would she date someone just cos they're like me?"

"She doesn't know she's doing it. And the last two guys she was with are hardly your clones." Paris explained.

"Who's she dated?" Tristan wasn't sure why he was so curious about Rory's former conquests, but he had to know.

"Dean twice, and this guy called Jess once. That one was a bit of a disaster."

"Did I hear the names of my ex-boyfriends?" Rory called from where she was batting away Logan's roaming hands.

Neither Tristan nor Paris had realised that they had stopped whispering.

"Just getting Tris up to date with the New Haven gossip, Gilmore." Paris replied.

"I didn't realise I was a huge factor in New Haven. Have you guys been keeping secrets about me from me again?"

"No, no, but as a friend of his Tris ought to know about you, too."

"We're friends? That's news to me. Hah, and I got it in the newsroom. Ironic." Rory said, trailing off into preoccupied mutters as she turned back to her article.

Logan wandered towards Paris and Tristan, looking defeated.

"Since Ace is being such a-" He raised his voice and turned back towards Rory "-stubborn killjoy-" he lowered his voice when she didn't react "-I vote we get going to the pub. Coming, Tris?"

"I'm actually gonna stay here, ambush Mary when she leaves so that we can catch up." He repsonded. He noticed that Rory made no move to make him leave, or reject his idea, and felt hopeful about fixing their weird relationship. "That sound okay to you, Mare?" He couldn't help it, he had to get a response. And if it was a good one then he could rub it in Logan's face – added bonus.

"Sure, sure, Bible Boy, sounds great." She said, absently. "Come back at like six and I might be done." She waved him off, and he walked out of the newsroom with a huge grin on his face.

"Rory Mary Gilmore, prepare to fall back in love." He murmured, as he and Logan made their way to the pub.


	2. can you imagine us years from today?

**A/N: Wow. I am so sorry I haven't posted in ages! I was on holiday so I didn't have an opportunity to write, and I only got back into the swing of things yesterday. I was as quick as possible, honestly. Anyway, I wanna say thanks for all the great feedback I got, and I hope you enjoy this installment. I own nothing except the plot. Unfortunately, not even the title is mine – it belongs to Simon and Garfunkel.**

As per instructions, Tristan returned to the newsroom at six o clock sharp, and was just in time to see Rory hitting Send with satisfaction. She glanced up and grinned when she noticed him leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.

"I'm heading out, Doyle." She called out to her editor, as she picked up her bag and jacket.

"Have you emailed me your article, Gilmore?" He asked.

"And there's a hard copy on my desk if you need it. See you around." She grabbed Tristan's arm and pulled him into the corridor. "Doyle is a bit…intense when it comes to the paper." She explained, as he gave her a questioning look, referring to her hasty exit. "And when it's just us he always insists on lecturing me on how we're going to keep our relationship 'professional'." She mimed quotation marks, mockingly as she said this. "It's pretty hard to keep any relationship professional once you've encountered your editor in a pink bathrobe and slippers."

"I'm sorry, what?" Tristan was more than slightly confused by Rory's words.

"Oh. He's dating Paris." She explained. "I keep running into him in the mornings wearing her nightwear. It's downright creepy." Her tangent had got them all the way to Tristan's car, and she now looked at him curiously. "Where were you planning on convincing me to go then?"

"How about back to the pad, for some coffee." He suggested. Her eyes lit up at the mention of coffee, and he chuckled deeply. "I'm guessing that sounds good to you, Mary."

"It sounds perfect. Colin has the most amazing coffee maker, I nearly stole it the last time Logan left me alone in your kitchen." Rory said, as she slid into the passenger seat of Tristan's Porsche.

"You spend a lot of time with Logan and the guys?" He kept his voice casual, but Tristan was positively aching for an answer.

"They've been spending quite a lot of time amusing me at New Haven society events and such." She told him, honestly. "My grandma has been…exhibiting me a lot lately, and they're good fun, and I guess I've been spending more time with them since we started hanging at parties. What with Logan always flirting with me, and Finn being Finn, and Colin trying to convince me to help him ask out Stephanie, they've sort of wormed their way into my daily routine, you know?"

Tristan did know. He'd been friends with Logan and Colin since kindergarten, and with Finn since he'd come to the US in the seventh grade. They too had all met at boring society dos, and started using eachother for entertainment. The four of them had originally only been friends at these events; a friendship of convenience only, but since they'd hit puberty the four of them had realised how similar they all were, and how well they understood eachother. Tristan now couldn't imagine his life without Logan, Colin and Finn, which was why he was being so careful with the Rory situation. Normally he would have dived in with his usual confidence and done some serious flirting, tried to get into Rory's pants ASAP, but with the added factor of his best friend, Tristan realised that he had to take things slowly. Work on Rory subtly. First though, he had to establish just how much Rory liked Logan, as he wasn't sure just how reliable Paris was when it came to the psychoanalysis of her friend.

"Yeah, I get it." He grinned, as she started flicking through the preset channels on his radio. "Just pick a wavelength already! Does Logan put up with this?"

"I haven't let him drive me anywhere." She confided. "Seems to much akin to being one of his dates; he drives _them _all over the place."

"Wait, so Logan's hitting on you and going on other dates at the same time?" Tristan was quite surprised at his friend's lack of tact.

"Sound familiar, Bible Boy?" She grinned at him.

"A little," he admitted, "But I've matured a lot since Chilton, you know."

"I'll believe that when I see it." She laughed, as they pulled up to Tristan's building, and he opened the door for her. "Very chivalrous of you."

He opened the front door and led her in, but she bowled past him and into the kitchen.

"Gonna make me some coffee?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at him. "I take it black." Tristan sighed, he never could refuse Rory when she brought out the big blues. He put on the kettle as she settled herself on the wooden countertop and began flicking through the books and magazines strewn about. "So what was it like in North Carolina?"

"Tough." He said. No one had ever really asked about his experiences in military school, preferring to dwell on the times he had been a model Dugray son. "But an amazing experience, actually."

"Well, that's not what I expected to hear. Complaints about how you weren't treated with the respect that your name merits, sure, but 'it was an amazing experience'; never." She said, honestly, as he passed her a steaming mug. She took an enormous gulp. "Mm, your coffee is almost as good as Luke's."

"Ah, the famous Luke. Who is he, again?" Tristan asked, sipping his own coffee, and pulling up a kitchen chair.

"My mom's fiancee, owner of the diner in Stars Hollow, and uncle of Jess, the ex boyfriend Paris was telling you about earlier." She told him.

They were still chatting easily when Logan and Finn came back from the pub, around eleven. They'd caught up with eachother, and Rory realised that she actually enjoyed spending time with her former tormentor, and that he was great company. Logan and Finn burst through the door tipsily, singing loudly to a Bruce Springsteen song.

"Hey guys, have you been in the pub since you left the news room?" Tristan called from the kitchen.

"Nah, mate, we went to a strip club for a bit." Finn replied, bowling into the kitchen and sitting on the table. He grinned at Rory. "You must be psychic, love, to realise that I didn't bring a girl home with me tonight. It was meant to be, I say."

"Or I was just catching up with an old, not quite friend, and was planning on being out of here before you came back and started hitting on me." Rory told Finn, as he mimed being heartbroken.

"Logan, your conquest has a harsh tongue!" He whined, as Logan came in with a glass of whiskey. "Is that the good stuff or the shit stuff?"

"The good stuff." Logan replied absently, as his eyes narrowed at the sight in front of him. Somewhere along the line, Rory's socked feet had ended up in Tristan's lap, and his chair was pulled right up to the counter. He was massaging her feet gently, and she paused in the act of ruffling up his hair in retaliation to a comment he'd made as Logan entered. "You two look very…cosy."

"Yeah, Mary and I have been catching up, getting to know eachother better." Tristan said, recognising the jealous looks he was getting from his friend, and honestly not caring.

Rory, oblivious as ever merely said, "Yeah, I got to know that Tris makes _amazing _coffee." She grinned widely and looked at her watch. "But, I really have to go now." She stretched out the word 'really' and frowned as she removed her feet from Tristan's grasp and slid off the counter. "I'm surprised I didn't get an angry phonecall from Paris an hour ago. She must be off doing Doyle." She pulled on her shoes and reached for her coat. "Thanks for a great evening, Tris." She waved at Finn and Logan before bending down and planting a soft kiss on Tristan's cheek. "Bye, guys."

She wandered out of the apartment, leaving the three boys in a tense silence.

"I saw her first, man, you know the rules." Logan growled, taking a slug of his whiskey.

Tristan sighed. Did Logan really still refer to the 'friendship rules' the four of them had made up at the age of thirteen? Alongside the 'the one who saw her first has automatic dibs' rule, there were several about Nintendo precedence, and who got the first go with each of the two handheld consoles. Tristan's personal favourite had always been the one about who got the last cupcake : 'the person who's birthday is happening in the next six month period after the specific cupcake incident gets to eat it as an early birthday present'. Classic. But the fact that Logan was trying to justify his jealousy with the bored musings of a group of thirteen year old boys was quite sad really. Ah well, Tristan thought, nothing for it but to beat him at his own game.

"Actually, dude, I saw her first. At Chilton. Three years ago. Therefore I can act however I want around her, because I wouldn't be muscling in on your action." He grinned, flashing white teeth at his friend, before exiting the kitchen and going to bed.

"Well, he's got you fucked there, mate, good and proper." Finn remarked, pouring himself another whiskey.

*

Rory walked back across campus to her dorm, and was met at the door by an anxious Paris.

"What the hell did you think you were doing walking home alone in the dark like that?" She yelled, dragging Rory into the common room and sitting her down on the couch for a long lecture. "It was so dangerous and irresponsible! You could have been raped or murdered! Someone could have attacked you! Why did you act so stupid?!"

"Paris, Paris, stop!" Rory shouted, laughing slightly at her friend's concern. "I know, it was stupid, but Tristan gave me a lift to his place and I didn't think about the fact that I had no car until I was too far to make it worthwhile going back." She explained.

Paris flopped back into an armchair. "Promise me you'll never do that again. If Tristan kidnaps you again, make sure that he takes you home again, too."

"I promise, okay?" Rory took off her coat and took a jelly-cup out of the fridge.

"Okay. So how was your date with Dugray?" Paris actually looked interested, which surprised Rory – she had always been the more involved half of the friendship. She was so shocked that she hardly even registered that she'd just been asked about a 'date'.

"Woah, woah, it wasn't a date!" She said, hurriedly. "It was just two not-quite friends catching up, and turning into friends." Paris looked at her knowingly. "That's all! It was fun, sure, but we're _just friends_."

"Sure, Gilmore, 'just friends'. That's why Tristan stayed behind specifically instead of going out drinking with his friends. That's why Logan's been extra flirtatious lately. You may think I don't notice these things, but I'm more observant than you give me credit for." She gloated.

"Well, for the record, I think you're totally wrong about everything you just said." Rory replied, as she went into her bedroom and shut the door. She was, however, feeling a lot less certain than she sounded. Tristan didn't fancy her, did he? And what about how she felt for him? Rory couldn't deny that it'd felt amazing and completely natural at the same time to be hanging out with him, and when he'd started massaging her feet and legs she'd felt…something. Electricity? No matter, there was absolutely nothing between her and Tristan. And there never would be.

Right?


	3. the old men lost in their overcoats

A/N: So this is a long chapter, but I've realised it's also a bit of a nothing chapter. Ah well, any chapter is better than nothing, right? That thing with the bowtie – it basically happened to me. I had to tie my brother's bowtie off a youtube video before his leavers ball, and it took me like 10 minutes – it's bloody hard, my mum couldn't do it after 20 minutes! Anyway, the plot is mine, but nothing else, so enjoy!

The next time Tristan saw her was at the coffee cart after one of his business classes. She was queueing with a gangly brown-haired boy and talking madly. He grinned widely when he noticed her, and noticed that she was the next in line to order, and sauntered to the front of the queue.

"Hey, Mary." He called, coming to a halt next to her.

"Hey, Bible Boy, long time no see." It had only been a day or so, but Tristan was overjoyed at how pleased she was to see him. "What's been keeping you so busy?"

"I haven't been that busy, Mare, you must have just missed me." He laughed, slinging an arm around her shoulders and trying to ignore the glares of the boy with her.

"Logan said you were out everytime I called or saw him." She said. So she'd called? And asked about him? Tristan was practically jiving when he heard this, but stayed outwardly calm. "Hi, I'd like a large cappaccino with an extra espresso shot." She told the guy manning the coffee cup.

"And I'll take a regular black coffee." Tristan said, over her head. "Who's your friend?" He gestured to the gangly guy.

"Oh! Of course! This is Marty. Marty, this is Tristan." She said, glad that Marty could see that at least one of her guy friends wasn't a complete jerk.

They nodded civilly at eachother, but there was an uncomfortable silence until the barista asked, "Together or separate?"

Rory opened her mouth, but was cut off by Tristan, who put down a five dollar bill and said, "Together."

He picked up both cups, handing the larger to Rory as they walked away from the stand.

She frowned. "Tristan, you didn't have to do that."

"Calm down, Mary, it's only a cup of coffee, not a Ferrari." He told her, chuckling. "So, Marty, what are you majoring in?"

*

Marty left them as soon as he could, and Tristan was thoroughly glad.

"I don't think your friend likes me very much." He commented, as they sat on the grass outside Rory's dorm block.

"Oh, come on. He's just shy; not everyone is good at small talk with strangers." She protested. She was onto her third cup of coffee of the hour, and as such was a bit more highly-strung.

"Please. If looks could kill I would have been dead the minute I called your name in the coffee queue." Tristan told her, honestly. He too had had a couple more coffees and was getting to be quite hyper, since he was less experienced at holding his coffee than Rory. "But I don't care, because he was the one that left, not me."

"How does that make a difference?" She asked, curiously.

"Well, it means that I won. I'm the bigger man, the one who was willing to put up with an annoying, shifty kid just because my friend is his friend." He explained. "Your boy Marty wanted you all to himself."

"I hadn't seen Marty in weeks, thanks to Logan, and I'm mad that you chased him away." Rory told him, trying to be stern but finding it impossible when faced with Tristan's sceptical face. "Fine. I'm not that mad. But I'm not happy either! This is gonna take damage control, and I've lost count of the number of people I've had to suck up to since you transferred here!"

"You've been alienating people for me?" He joked, although underneath the idea that she'd been blowing people off just to spend time with him had greatly affected him. "How incredibly flattering!" He put a hand over his heart.

"You _should_ be flattered, Dugray! That evening I spent at your apartment I missed like eight calls from my mom, two from Lane, one from Zach yelling at me for ignoring Lane, one from Luke pleading with me to call my mom, and a drunken call from Logan. He's been pissy with me all week, you know, it's taken me a while to get him back on my good side." She told him, frustratedly.

"Why do you care whether Logan's a bit annoyed or not?" He was worried by her concern, but decided to put it out of his head. "Come to think of it, why the hell did your mom call you _eight times_?"

"We're close." She defended herself, ignoring his question about Logan.

They changed the subject and bantered peacefully for a few minutes before a disruption at the dorms caught their attention.

"Now, I only tried to get in here once when I was drunk." A familiar Australian voice was saying, calmly.

"Sorry, kid, but I bar drunken visitors permanently." The security guard replied. "I don't care who you and your friend wanna see, you're not getting in."

"This is unbelieveable. Do you know who my family is?" Another familiar voice was getting very angry. "I just want to get in there to see Rory Gilmore – she lives on the first floor."

Rory and Tristan looked at eachother. Tristan hoped that maybe she'd decide to lie low and let Logan and Finn get turned away, but was hardly surprised when she sat up and yelled across the lawn.

"Logan, Finn, no need to keep fighting and bribing – I'm over here." She called. They hurried over, Logan flipping off the security guard as he left.

"What are you doing?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

"Tris and I were cloud watching." She told him, gesturing to the blond boy lying next to her. "And talking, and drinking coffee and stuff."

"Oh." Seeing Tristan had put Logan in a bad mood. He'd wanted to spend some alone time with 'his Ace' but he now had to share her with Tristan as well as Finn, who had insisted on tagging along. "Well. Have you heard about the party your folks are throwing, Ace?"

"My grandparents told me yesterday, yeah." She replied, lying back down. "Ooh, I see one that looks like a puppy."

"I've been invited too, want to be my date?" Logan asked, while Rory pointed out the puppy-shaped cloud to Tristan. "It'd be fun…"

"I was thinking of going alone, actually." She replied, before turning to Tristan. "You been invited, Bible Boy?"

"Course I have." He told her, inwardly dancing at the way she'd cut down Logan in favour of talking to him. "I'm the hot gossip at the moment – formerly disgraced Dugray boy transferring from Harvard. I see one shaped like a donut over there."

"Well then why don't all four – wait, six since Stephanie and Colin will be going – all six of us go as a group?" She suggested.

"Make it seem like we're all doing eachother, you mean, love?" Finn asked. She laughed and punched him awkwardly from her horizontal position. "Or make it seem like 'we defy the antiquated customs of the older generations and will go with whoever the hell we want'?" He made airquotes as he spoke.

"Actually, I was thinking more of the fact that it'd be fun if we all went together." She told him, still giggling.

*

Rory walked over to the boys' penthouse apartment at about six on the day of the party. She and Stephanie had been instructed to come over so that they could all make a 'grand entrance' together. The November air was cold and dry, and Rory tugged her coat tighter around her. She rang the doorbell, and waited to be buzzed up, wondering what this party would be like, and whether her grandparents were going to try to set her up with someone _again._

Stephanie hadn't arrived yet, and she found all the guys in a state of undress. Logan was wearing only boxers, Finn wasn't even wearing boxers, Colin was wearing trousers, and Tristan was wearing his boxers and a shirt.

"What is wrong with you guys? It took me like half an hour to get ready! It really isn't that hard." She exclaimed, when she entered, realising that it was going to take all of her organisational skills to get them ready in time.

"Sorry Rory." All four boys chorused monotonously, as if they were reciting their times tables.

"We got into an X-Box tournament while we were getting dressed." Colin explained, shamefaced.

"You guys are idiots." She muttered, beginning to locate bits of clothing on the floor. "Right, whose pants are these?"Logan shuffled forward and grabbed them, pulling them on with a hint of embarassment – something Rory had never seen in Logan before. "And these?" The second pair were claimed by Finn, along with a pair of underpants lying over the sofa. Rory studiously avoided looking anywhere near Finn as she slowly clothed them all.

They were all adding the finishing touches to their penguin suits when Rory found Tristan pacing in front of his laptop, a Youtube video on the screen.

"Hey, Tris, what the hell are you doing?" She asked, hands on hips.

He held up two ties. "Blue or green?" He asked, anxiously.

"Well, I'd say blue because it brings out your eyes," Rory paused and blushed, before regaining her confidence. "But why aren't you going to wear a bowtie?"

He looked at her quizically, "How did you…never mind, I'm not wearing one."

She faked shock, "But how are you going to look all louche and attractively dishevelled at the end of the night if you can't undo your bowtie?" She asked him.

"Louche and attractively dishevelled?" He laughed. "I'd have thought I was louche enough without the bowtie."

"Well, newsflash, buddy, no one is louche enough to go without a bowtie." She told him firmly. "Now come one, we're gonna get a bowtie on you."

"Well." He paused, and then began to confess. "I kind of already tried to put one on." He gestured to his laptop. The Youtube page, she now realised, showed a video labelled 'Bowties, the step by step method to tying and untying them'. "I was having trouble, so I gave up."

Rory merely rolled her eyes and restarted the video. She watched it through, Tristan watching her the whole time, and then turned back to him. "Hand me your bowtie." He obediantly gave her the dark piece of material and turned up his collar.

She played the video through again, following the instructions carefully. In less than two minutes, Tristan's bowtie was perfect. He glanced at his reflection.

"Holy shit, you're good at that." He laughed, giving her a hug. "Thanks for helping me look extra cool."

"Louche." She corrected him. "The word is louche."

"Sorry, sorry. Thanks for making me look extra _louche._" He said, taking her hand and dragging her into the living room. "Come on, guys, we're gonna be really late!" He yelled, causing his flatmates to hurry out of their various rooms and pull on jackets. "Steph here?"

"Nah, she got the flu," Finn told him. "Or maybe it was period pains. I forget."

*

The four of them drove over to the Gilmore house and rang the doorbell. From the sounds of light piano music and affected laughter, the party was in full swing and Rory knew that she was going be berated by her grandma for being late. The newest maid opened the door and smiled shyly at them all.

"Hello, love, we're here to sweep you off your feet." Finn said, huskily. The maid blushed, and Rory elbowed Finn in the stomach.

"We're here for the party. Just ignore the Australian." The girl smiled gratefully and took their coats. "You guys can go ahead, I need to talk to my grandma." Rory said, as Emily approached her.

Tristan, Logan and Finn entered the crowded parlour and began scanning the crowd for people to avoid.

"Alison Grant, seven o clock." Logan muttered.

"Oh God!" Tristan groaned, "She always talks to me about her blisters! I can't bear another night of…" He trailed off. Rory had just entered the room and he finally saw her without the coat she had been wearing all evening. She was wearing a very uncharacteristic dress. It was cobalt blue and fell to just above her knees. It came up around her neck, but when she turned to talk to her grandmother he saw that it had no back at all, held up at the neck and then when the skirt began. "Oh my God." He breathed.

"What are you on about, mate?" Finn asked, as he and Logan followed the direction of his gaze. "Oh. That. I never realised that Reporter Girl could wear something so…sexy."

Tristan couldn't help but agree. Logan's jaw was practically on the ground, and he had a feeling he looked the same. He became sure of the fact when Rory approached them and gave them a strange look.

"What's up with you guys?" She asked.

"You look totally hot, love." Finn said, bluntly. Logan just nodded mutely.

"Uh, thanks, Finn." Rory said, blushing.

"Really, Mary, you look stunning." Tristan murmured.

"My mom's choice." She told him, shyly.

"Remind me to thank her profusely." He said. "What with me being especially louche tonight and you being especially sexy we're making quite a pair tonight."

"Then lets go shock some society people!" She laughed, looping her arm through his.


	4. Winter Companions

"Hey, gorgeous girl, you're lookin' sexy tonight." A husky voice murmured in Rory's ear. Too deep to really be a man's voice, she recognised her mother straight away.

"Hi, Mom," Rory giggled, not looking round from her conversation with Rosemary.

"No fair! How come you could tell?" Lorelai whined, coming to stand next to her daughter.

"Because you sound nothing like a man." Rory reasoned.

"You should know, you've been spending a lot of time with men lately; I saw you with Logan and some hottie across the room." Lorelai complained.

"You've really gotta make your mind up, Mom. One day you're complaining that I don't know enough guys, don't go on enough dates, and the next you're complaining that I have male friends!" Rory exclaimed, giving Lorelai her full attention as Rosemary wandered off.

"Well fine, I'll agree to stop changing my mind about your guy friend status, as long as you tell me who the mysterious hottie is." Lorelai agreed, taking her daughter's arm and pulling her closer to Tristan.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but you're not gonna like it."

"Not gonna like it? I'm gonna like any guy that spent the first hour of the night squiring my gorgeous daughter around, and saving her from my mother's evil DAR friends."

"You were here for a whole hour before you came and spoke to me?" Rory asked, feigning hurt. "That's cruel, Mom, really cruel."

"Less crying, more introducing." Lorelai muttered, as they got nearer to Tristan.

"Fine, fine." Rory grumbled. "Tris, this is my mom, Lorelai." Tristan flashed the older Gilmore a winning smile and held out his hand.

"Well aren't you well trained." Lorelai giggled, flirting face on.

"Need I remind you that you're engaged, Mother?" Rory asked, sweetly. "Mom, this is Tristan DuGray."

Lorelai froze for a second. "_The_ Tristan DuGray? The one that kissed you that time? The mean one?"

"That's me, Ms Gilmore." Tristan said, looking slightly regretful. "Or at least, that was me. Rore and I are on great terms now."

"Hmm," Lorelai looked sceptical, "If Rory's in favour of you I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you screw up I will ruin you. Got that?"

"Loud and clear, Ma'am." Tristan looked scared despite all his best efforts to keep cool.

"And you can call me Lorelai, sweetie." She smiled, before weaving her way through the crowds to Emily.

"So, your mom is a little intense." Tristan said, breathing deeply.

"Yeah, she can be sometimes, but she seems to like you." Rory replied, picking up a drink at the bar.

"How can you tell?"

"Well, for one thing she called you 'sweetie' but also, she can't resist blond hair and a smirk." Rory giggled. "Unless it's Logan. Then she's really resistant."

"Well then obviously you should spend all your time with me to please your mother. And to please me, of course." Tristan chuckled, picking up a drink of his own. He was pleased to see Rory blushing slightly; he was definitely having an effect on her.

*

Tristan and Rory separated for a bit during the evening, each being dragged off by parents or flirtatious members of the opposite sex. It was past midnight when the party started winding down, and Rory ventured out to find him again. He was standing at the bar with Logan, a vodka and coke in his hand.

"Shouldn't it be martinis at the end of the night?" Rory asked, coming up behind them.

"There you are, beautiful! I've been looking for you." Logan said, smoothly, putting an arm around her and summoning the bartender. "A gin martini for the lady."

"Oh, you've been looking for me whilst drinking mixers with Tris?" Rory asked, sarcastically. Tristan chuckled quietly. "And don't get me started on you; letting me get dragged off by that Mitchell Davis guy. I mean really, all he wanted to talk about was horticulture! And apparently you knew him in junior high, and so must have known all about his single-mindedness."

"Sorry, Mary, I didn't see him steal you away, or I would have swept in in a jealous rage and rescued you. Mitchell is quite the ladies man."

"Sure, if you're into being ruffled in the compost heap." Rory grumbled. "And you haven't done the bowtie thing yet." The boys looked at her questioningly. "I didn't spend several minutes helping you tie that stupid thing for you to forget to untie it at the end of the night."

"Oh yeah, looking louche, I'd forgotten!" Tristan realised.

"You shouldn't forget to look louche, it detracts from the awesomeness." Rory scolded him.

"Sorry, Mary, do you want to untie the bowtie?" Tristan asked, hopefully. She grinned and tugged at the two silky ends. "You do louche-making so perfectly."

"Well I am a bit of an expert, what with being a debutante and all; we have to help out the guys all the time." Rory teased.

"Come on, Gilmore, you're like the anti-debutante!" Tristan laughed, putting a hand round her waist, naturally as they headed towards the door. "I'm surprised you didn't break down in hysterical laughter during that whole fan dance thing."

"Lemme guess, you were Summer's date when she came out." Rory remarked.

"I was indeed, and I almost killed myself laughing. She dumped me for not taking it seriously enough, but we were back together by the end of the night anyway." Tristan informed her. "Thank you for the wonderful evening, Mrs Gilmore, it's been fun."

Emily Gilmore was charmed by the DuGray boy, and especially pleased to see his arm around her granddaughter's waist. Maybe she could aim higher than the Huntzberger boy after all. "You're very welcome, Tristan. Rory, I'll see you next Friday, and you can tell me where you got that lovely dress. It makes your eyes pop." She replied, as she saw them through the door.

"I agree with your grandma on that one, Mary; your eyes are looking especially blue tonight." Tristan told her, flirtatiously.

"My ex told me that I have azure eyes." Rory replied, equally flirtatiously. Logan sighed. Tristan was taking her from right under his nose, and he couldn't even call him out through the rules. God damn high school.

*

It was Saturday, and, surprise surprise, Rory was back in the YDN office, finishing up an article. Tristan shook his head as he saw her through the glass. That girl needed to take a break. Queuing up for a cup of coffee, he ran through his options for the day in his mind.

He could buy a cup of coffee, go flirt with the redhead by the statue, who was definitely giving him the look, and remain friends with Logan till they died. He could buy two cups of coffee, go drag the hard working brunette out of the newsroom to have some fun, and possibly have Logan cut him out of his life. Difficult choice.

"What can I get you man?" The barista asked.

"One regular latte...and a large cappuccino with an extra coffee shot, please." Choice made, Tristan headed for the newsroom, and tried to come to terms with the fact that he'd just chosen a girl over his best friend.

"Hey, Mary, feel like venturing into the real world for a change?" He asked, perching on the edge of her desk.

"Not particularly. My article is due tomorrow." Rory replied, swiping her cup of coffee. "Thanks for the fuel, though."

"I am not letting you stay cooped up in here all day, article or no article. You must be almost finished proof-reading it by now. Paris said you left at nine o clock this morning." Tristan scolded her.

"When did you talk to Paris?" Rory asked, eager to distract him.

"I dropped by your dorm this morning to see if you wanted to come out, just like I'm doing now. Nice try, Rore, I'm not as easily distracted as Logan." He explained.

"Fine. Give me five minutes to save it and email it to Doyle and we can go wherever you want." She sighed, giving into the puppy dog face he had just flashed her.

"Uh uh, it doesn't take five minutes to send an email. I'll do it." He leaned over her shoulder and clicked on the little floppy disk symbol, inhaling her scent – a mixture of conditioner and perfume – as he saved. Another few clicks and the article was in Doyle's inbox. "As you can see, that took me all of thirty seconds." He said, triumphantly.

"You're amazing, whatever." Rory monotoned, as she was dragged out of the newsroom.

"Hey, Ace, I was just coming by to see if you wanted to do something." Logan remarked, as he met them at the door of the building, arms linked. Tristan waited for her reply with bated breath.

"Actually, Tris and I were thinking of hanging out today." She replied, easily. "But you could come out for a drink later, if you want."

"Sure. A drink sounds good. I'll meet you at the pub at seven?" Logan asked, looking a little downcast.

"Actually, what I had planned might get us back a bit later than that, Mary." Tristan cut in. "Mini road trip sound good?"

"Sounds great." She grinned at Tristan. "I'll call when we get back to campus, Logan."

They wandered off, chatting and giggling. Logan watched them go with a heavy heart. As far as Rory was concerned, he stood no chance against the mighty Tristan DuGray.


	5. waiting for the sunset

**A/N: I haven't written in a ridiculously long time. I'm not gonna give you my very legitimate excuse, because honestly you don't really care. Anyway, here's the one you've all been waiting for.**

"So where is this road trip actually gonna take us?" Rory asked, as she put her feet up on the dashboard of Tristan's car.

"I was thinking it would be a round trip, so basically take us back to campus." He said, unwilling to admit that he had no idea where they were going to go.

"So you have no idea?" She asked, sceptically. He sighed. That girl could read him better than anyone, and he couldn't help but like that about her. "How about we just, you know, go with the flow...be spontaneous."

"Sounds great, Mary." He replied, grinning at her.

"Eyes on the road, my friend, I don't wanna be in another car accident." Rory giggled, as she plugged in Tristan's iPod for some on the road music. "Mind if I make you a new playlist of road trip songs?"

"Sure, that sounds cool." He replied, absently. "When were you in a car accident?"

"A while after you left. Jess, my ex boyfriend, took me out for ice cream and he swerved to avoid an animal. Unfortunately he wrapped the car around a tree." She replied, nonchalantly.

"Your boyfriend drove a car into a tree? And you stayed with him?" He asked, incredulously.

"We weren't dating then, and that wasn't even the worst he did." She replied.

"That wasn't the worst? Man, Rory, I thought you didn't like the whole bad boy thing, but I guess it's just me you don't like, not my image." He sighed.

"Come on, Tris, I like you despite your bad boy image!" She cried out, anxious to comfort the boy that she was starting to see as more than a friend.

"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that. Do you think of me more as a sex slave then?" He asked, mischievously.

"You wish, DuGray." She replied, after a moment's hesitation.

Tristan paused, slightly stunned. "Did you just make a comeback to my dirty joke?" He asked, shocked.

"I may have, yeah." Rory said, grinning despite herself. "Oh my God! Take the next right!"

"Why? What did I miss?" Tristan questioned.

"There's a fair going on in that field over there!"

*

Tristan and Rory slid into a booth at the pub opposite Logan and Colin at nine o clock. Logan had been waiting impatiently for over an hour, and was on his fourth scotch on the rocks. He looked up at the happy pair, frowning. Tristan had traces of tiger stripes on his cheeks and around his eyes, while Rory had a ladybird painted on her cheeks. They were both carrying novelty fair prizes, including a purple octopus that Tristan had won for Rory on the air rifles stand.

"Where the fuck have you two been? What happened to eight o clock?" Logan grumbled.

"We were on our road trip!" Rory giggled. "And I did say I'd call when we got back to campus, not that we'd be here at eight o clock."

"Well then why didn't you call?" He asked, aggrieved.

"My cell ran out of battery, and Tristan lost his on the Waltzer." She replied, as if it was obvious.

"The Waltzer?"

"This awesome ride that spins you round and round and round and gives you whiplash." Tristan told him.

"That sounds amazing." Logan replied, sarcastically. It sounded like hell to him.

"It was brilliant!" Rory enthused. She hadn't caught the sarcasm in Logan's tone, and soon she and Tristan were reliving the entire funfair.

"Do you want a drink, Ace?" Logan interjected, as they started rapturing about the ring toss.

"A gin martini would be great, thanks Logan, and a scotch neat for Tristan?" Both guys were shocked that Rory already knew Tristan's drink of choice after having only been out drinking with him once.

Logan frowned slightly, but wandered off towards the bar to fill in the Gilmore girl's order. Tristan shifted in the booth to look at her.

"You know my favourite drink." He stated softly. She nodded, and blushed lightly. "You prefer your martinis with vodka not gin, but feel bad about telling Logan that he always gets it wrong."

"How..." She trailed off and stared at the man in front of her, blue eyes wide.

This was it, Tristan thought, now or never. "I know because I care about you, Rory, I care deeply." He told her. "I've cared about you practically since you told me and Summer to stop making out in front of your locker, and you haunted my mind all through the time we were apart. And I'm not shy about saying it, because the whole scotch neat thing has shown me that you care about me too."

Rory was speechless for a couple of seconds. "I...I guess I do care, Tristan. Deeply." She smiled at him shyly.

The pair were wrapped up in each other's eyes when Logan returned with the drinks.

"Did I miss something here?" The media mogul's son asked.

"Nothing at all, man, me and Mary are just winding down after a day out." Tristan replied, not tearing his gaze away from Rory's. "Actually, I think I'm gonna walk her back to her dorm."

He stood, and offered Rory his hand, which she took as she stood as well. They walked out of the bar, but not before Logan saw Tristan place his arm around Rory's waist, and Rory put her head on his shoulder. Logan sat down with a sigh, three full drinks in front of him, and resigned himself to losing the girl.

*

Rory and Tristan walked back to her dorm in silence, but when they got to her door, they stopped, suddenly more awkward. Tristan shuffled his feet and glanced at her lips. Rory looked away bashfully, and shifted her weight from side to side.

"This is stupid." Tristan burst out. "I've never been shy around girls, and I've definitely never been shy around you, so I'm just gonna take the plunge."

Before Rory could reply, or even open her mouth, his lips were on hers in a kiss that he had waited three years for. It was everything either of them had imagined, and Rory swore she could see fireworks going off behind her now closed lids. She didn't think it could get any better before Tristan softly slid his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss.

They broke away when neither had any oxygen left, and Rory leant against the door to steady herself. "Wow. That was some kiss." She giggled.

"Best I've ever had." Tristan admitted, seriously. "You really aren't much of a Mary anymore, are you, Rore?"

"No, I guess not. But I think I'd be sad if you stopped calling me that."


	6. Memory brushes the same years

**A/N: So, I'm sorry about the massive wait between chapters, and I'm sorry the last one was so short, which I didn't realise, but here is an extra long one to make up for it!**

Rory had gone inside after she'd said that, leaving Tristan standing in the corridor, tiger stripes still visible on his cheeks. He couldn't believe that he'd finally done what he'd been dreaming of for years; he'd made out with Rory Gilmore, and it had been amazing. He sighed suddenly. Now he had to go home and face Logan, the other guy fighting for Rory's affections, and tell him that she'd chosen a winner, and it certainly wasn't the slacking son of a media mogul.

He trudged back to the bar and picked up his car, driving home without the accompaniment of the radio or CDs, just reliving the moment that he'd finally realised one of his dreams. Back at his apartment, he killed the engine and sighed. What if it tore the two of them apart? What if their friendship didn't survive, and Logan never spoke to him again? What if Finn and Collin took Logan's side, and never spoke to him again either? He didn't want to lose the three of them; they were his best friends, and even Rory wasn't worth breaking up the band. He got out his cell phone.

*

Rory closed the door on Tristan, a dreamy smile on her face, and turned around to face a curious looking Paris.

"What happened out there? I heard you two talking, but didn't think you'd appreciate me spying, so I left you to it, and now you've got this really goofy grin." Paris sat down on the sofa and stared hard at her roommate. Rory sighed. "Spill."

"Tristan kissed me." Rory told her, sitting down on the other end of the sofa.

"Well, it's about time, too." Rory looked puzzled. "He's been after you since Chilton, and meeting you again in college hasn't changed that. He's been trying to get you to choose him over Logan since he arrived." Paris explained.

"He has?"

"He has. Not in a 'I'm Tristan Dugray and I just want to gloat about getting the girl' way, either. He wants to be with you, but he's a coward. So I'm glad he finally got it over and done with tonight."

"Well, he never actually said anything about what would happen after the kiss." Rory said, frowning slightly. She didn't like being kept hanging, when it came to matters of the heart.

"He'll call and ask you out soon, I'm sure, Rory. He'll probably do it tonight."

As she said this, Rory's phone started buzzing in her purse. Paris shot Rory an 'I told you so' look, and wandered into her bedroom.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Rory, it's Tristan."_

"Oh, hey!" Rory visibly perked up at the sound of his voice. "What's up?"

"_I, uh, I...this isn't easy, Ror, but I really don't think I can do this whole 'us' thing at the moment."_

"What do you mean?"

"_I mean I don't want us to go out, and I want us to forget about the kiss. Listen, I'm sorry, but it's just not the right time for us to be together."_

"Oh." Rory's voice was small as she sank down onto the sofa. "Fine. Okay then."

"_Listen, I really want to stay friends, Rory, really I do. Can I meet you for coffee tomorrow?"_

"Sorry, Tristan, but I have classes all day."

"_Well how about-"_

"Goodbye, Tristan." Rory hung up the phone without letting him finish his sentence. She tried to take deep calming breaths, and not over react, but she couldn't. A violent sob racked her body, and Paris, coming to visit her craft corner, noticed the change in her friend's demeanour.

"Rory! What's wrong?" She asked, showing a softer side of her personality, and putting an arm around Rory's shoulders.

"Apparently it isn't the right time for us to be together." Rory replied, pulling herself together and holding in her tears. "He wants to forget about the kiss and just stay friends. Guess you were wrong after all."

She got up and went into her room, closing the door and finishing the conversation, leaving Paris sitting on the sofa.

"That son of a bitch." She growled.

*

The next morning, Tristan hung around the coffee cart Rory usually went to, in the hope of seeing her and explaining himself, but she didn't come. She wasn't at the newsroom anytime throughout the day, and on his fifth visit, Doyle had banned him on Paris' orders. The blonde had glared at him every time they crossed paths, but refused to talk to him. He assumed that she had been told about his less than smooth attempt to back off of Rory.

He was miserable, and it had only been twenty four hours since he'd made the call that had changed his life, and his college experience. But, he kept telling himself, he'd done it for the good of his friendship, and rule number one of their friendship had always been 'mates before dates'. Logan had seemed pleased when Tristan told him that the walk to her dorm had been totally innocent, and that Rory didn't seem interested in the boy she knew from high school, and it had made Tristan feel better about what he was doing, but he knew he couldn't keep using Logan's happiness to keep him going.

*

Friday came around all too quickly, and Rory found herself dressing for dinner with her grandparents and mother. She'd had a pretty miserable week, avoiding Tristan and burying herself in her work. Paris had told her that he'd been looking for her for several days, before apparently giving up. Obviously he didn't care enough about her then. She'd made several dates with Logan, as an attempt to cheer herself up, and she'd done a pretty good job of acting like Ace instead of Mary, but seeing him only made her think of the guy that had turned her down, and shattered her heart in the process.

Several tearful conversations had been had down the phone with her mother, who had sworn to castrated the Dugray heir the next time she saw him, and Rory was feeling slightly better now, but she knew that Emily would want to gossip about Tristan, having seen him with her granddaughter at the party. She thought she was just about ready for that scenario; could bluff it quite well.

The reality was quite different.

*

"You ring the bell."

"No, I rang it last week, you ring it."

"You always say that, but I always ring it, so you obviously didn't ring the bell last week." It wouldn't be Friday night without an argument with her mother over who would make it impossible for them to run away. "How about growing up and ringing it."

As she said this, the door opened, to reveal Emily Gilmore. "I thought I'd save you two the trouble of standing on the doorstep for another ten minutes, considering my guests can see you. It's really quite embarrassing."

"You have guests tonight?" Lorelai asked as she removed her coat. "Does that mean we can leave?"

"They're guests that I want you to meet and get along with, Lorelai, but Rory should have no trouble with that."

The two younger Gilmores frowned at each other, puzzled by this remark, and followed Emily into the living room. Suddenly they weren't so puzzled.

"Rory, Lorelai, you already know Tristan, but this is Claire and Everett Dugray, his parents. Claire, Everett, this is my daughter Lorelai and granddaughter Rory." Emily made the introductions, as her relations just stared at the guests, and Tristan stared right back.

He couldn't believe how Rory looked. To an untrained eye she seemed just a little stressed, common for someone at college, but to Tristan, who knew her face inside out, she looked like she hadn't slept or eaten for days. She had bags under her eyes, which were now glaring at him, and she seemed thinner. Tristan himself didn't look his best either. His normally floppy hair was almost on end from the number of times he'd run his fingers through it in agony, and he too had heavy bags below his eyes.

"Wow. This night just got really interesting." Lorelai whispered.

"What was that, Lorelai?" Emily asked, as they sat down as far away from Tristan as possible.

"I said that I'm very interested to meet the Dugrays, mother."

Emily shot her a sceptical glance as she handed her a martini, and Rory a Coke. The seven people sat in slightly awkward silence for a moment or two, before Richard began talking to Rory.

"So, Rory, how's the Yale Daily News doing?"

"Its fine, Grandpa." Rory said, quietly.

"Oh! You're on the newsteam?" Everett Dugray asked. "I was on it in my day, and I wish I could get Tristan to join."

"Well, getting a reporting spot is quite competitive, sir, and you need to be able to stick at it for a long time, he can't just get on the team and then decide he can't be bothered and doesn't want to do it." Rory said, sweetly, as if she wasn't trying to prove a point to Tristan.

"I decided not to join the newspaper because that's Logan's territory, Dad, and I didn't want him to feel like I was barging in and taking away things that he liked and wanted." Tristan replied, not looking at Rory, but allowing his words to sink in.

"Logan is a big boy now, Tristan, I'm sure he could have handled it." Claire laughed, and Rory nodded at her comment.

"I guess some people just don't have the guts to fight for what they want regardless of other people's feelings, huh Rory?" Lorelai mused, looking into the distance.

"Is there something going on here that I'm not getting?" Emily asked, looking slightly confused.

"No, Grandma, we're just talking about the trials and hazards of being a Yale Daily News reporter." Rory told her, innocently.

"Hmm...Well, anyway, it's time to go in for dinner."

*

The meal was tense and really only the elder Gilmores and Dugrays took part in any conversation. Tristan was across from Rory and kept trying to make her look at him, by tapping her with his foot, dropping his fork loudly, and even burping to get her attention. But she looked resolutely at her plate or at the adult speaking, and hardly said a word all night.

Once the Dugrays were gone, and only the Gilmore clan remained, Emily turned on her daughter and granddaughter.

"You two couldn't have been more taciturn if you'd tried!" She said, accusingly. "Claire and Everett are very good friends of ours and you probably insulted them terribly."

"Sorry, Grandma, I wasn't really in the mood for entertaining tonight." Rory said, quietly.

"Why ever not? I thought you'd enjoy having Tristan there, what with the two of you being so close, but you didn't say two words to him all night."

"Tristan and I aren't as close as you think, Grandma." Rory replied, wearily.

"So you just let any boy stay by your side for half the night and buy you drinks and put his arm around your waist?"

"Occasionally, yeah. Besides, just because we aren't close doesn't mean he's a stranger."

"And just because you aren't close doesn't mean that you shouldn't be friendly and polite when he's over for dinner." Emily replied.

"Okay! Stop it, guys! Mom, Rory and Tristan had a fight, and it was really hard for her to face him, let alone talk to him. That's why she was silent all night. And by the way, Tristan didn't say much either, so stop blaming everything on Rory." Lorelai jumped in and finished the argument. "Are you coming home this weekend, kid? I've forgotten."

"Yeah, I've got some stuff in my car, so I'll just meet you back at the house." Rory replied, gathering her coat and bag. "The food was great, Grandma, see you soon, Grandpa." She gave them each a kiss and followed her mother out of the house, where they each got into their cars, and drove off.

*

Tristan got back to Yale feeling sad and demoralised. His friends had hardly noticed how bad he had been feeling, and he'd had to endure Logan gloating about the dates he'd had with Rory.

"Shit. I don't think I can keep this up anymore." Tristan muttered, as he paused outside the door to the apartment, and heard Logan tell Collin that he and Rory were getting together on Monday evening. He squared his shoulders and walked into the apartment. "Logan, we need to talk."

"Oh man, are you dumping me?" Logan asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Seriously, dude, I need to tell you something." Tristan sat down on the sofa and removed his jacket.

"Well, then shoot."

"Rory and I kissed."

"What? When?" Logan looked suspiciously at his friend. "Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding. We kissed the night we went to the carnival. I walked her back to her dorm and we kissed. Several times, actually."

"Okay, but why are you telling me this? You basically haven't seen her since that night."

"Exactly. I decided that I didn't want to risk our friendship over a girl that we both like, so I told her I just wanted to stay friends, and she got really annoyed. Possibly because I didn't get to tell her why I wanted to be friends." Tristan explained.

"Wow, man. You backed off because of me? Thanks." Logan looked genuinely grateful, and Tristan almost felt guilty for what he was about to say. Almost.

"Yeah I did, but I've been feeling horrible ever since, and I saw Rory tonight and she looked bad too. She wouldn't even look at me throughout dinner, and it killed me a little. I think I love her, man. I don't think I ever stopped actually." Tristan paused and glanced at his friend, who looked confused. "What I'm trying to say is that I've decided not to back off. I've gotta do this for me, for my sanity I have to see whether it works out. So I'm warning you now that that's my intention."

He didn't wait for a reply, just walked out of the apartment. Declaring his intentions was all very well, but how on earth was he going to get Rory to look at him again, let alone talk to him and date him? Paris was the obvious answer. He drove over to hers as quickly as possible and knocked several times, praying that Doyle wasn't going to be there in her nightwear.

Luckily, Paris, fully dressed, answered and one look at him made her gesture to the couch. "What's wrong, jackass?"

"So Rory told you, huh?"

"I was the first to know, and the first to think 'what the fuck is wrong with that guy?'" She replied, scathingly.

"I have no idea what was wrong with me, but I do know that I was wrong. I need Rory, I think I might love Rory, and I need to get her back." Tristan groaned and flopped back on the sofa. "What am I gonna do?"

"Rory's a hopeless romantic. So do something romantic for her." Paris told him, calmly.

"Something romantic, something romantic." Tristan started wracking his brains.

*

It was four in the morning when Rory thought she heard a car pull up outside her house. She woke up properly when she heard a door slam and footsteps make their way to the front of her house. Someone fumbled around with something, and she got out of bed. That was when the singing started.

"_Girl, you really got me goin'  
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin', now  
Yeah, you really got me now  
You got me so I can't sleep at night  
Yeah, you really got me now  
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin', now  
Oh yeah, you really got me now  
You got me so I can't sleep at night"_

The guy singing didn't have the greatest voice, but it was being boomed through a megaphone and distorted slightly. They were, however definitely singing to her house, so she ventured a look outside._  
_

"_You Really Got Me  
You Really Got Me  
You Really Got Me"  
_It was Tristan. Tristan was serenading her with The Kinks, in an attempt to win her back.

_  
"See, don't ever set me free  
I always wanna be by your side  
Girl, you really got me now  
You got me so I can't sleep at night" _

People had emerged from their houses, watching. Babette had a video camera, and was recording Tristan as he stood in their driveway and sang his heart out._  
"Yeah, you really got me now  
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin', now  
Oh yeah, you really got me now  
You got me so I can't sleep at night  
You Really Got Me  
You Really Got Me  
You Really Got Me  
Oh no..."_

The singing stopped, the song was over, and Rory was practically in tears. But apparently that wasn't all.

"Rory Gilmore I love you!" Tristan yelled, so practically the whole town could hear him. "I love you, and I'm sorry that I did what I did, even if I did have some stupid reason. Will you give me a second chance?"_  
_


End file.
